WATERBORO, Maine — More than 100 community members in East Waterboro joined at Friendship Park on Sunday to remember two people who were fatally injured in a crash in July 2021.
Luke Stevenson, 12, and Mark Schepis, 45, were strangers, according to those who know the families.
The two struck up a friendly conversation outside Cozi Corner Cafe in East Waterboro, something their families say is similar to their personalities, before being struck and killed by a car driven by Charles Stoddard of Waterboro.
Stoddard, 64, admitted to police that he injected heroin and was struggling to stay awake before he hit them. He was charged with manslaughter.
"It was a tragedy beyond belief, it really has affected the community," York County Sheriff Bill King, who responded to the scene in 2021, said. "We're getting through it every day, it gets a little easier but we're getting through it. The pain is still very raw."
Sheriff's deputies presented wreaths to the wife of Mark Schepis and the parents and sister of Luke Stevenson.
Through the payers, choir singing, and the tears of dozens, were sounds of children playing.
The sounds come from a playground, built in the essence of a ship, donated in honor of Luke.
To the left of the playground is a bench, dedicated to Luke and his friendliness toward strangers.
"On some level, it bonds the community. ... It certainly has bonded the Waterboro community," Sheriff King said.
NEWS CENTER Maine has reached out to the York County Sheriff's Department for an update in Stoddard's case and will update the story should more information become available.